Overview: Gay Rights in South America

In 2002, Argentina was at the forefront of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights debate when it became the first country in the region to allow same-sex civil unions. After this landmark decision, other countries such as Mexico, Ecuador, Uruguay, and even Spain followed suit. On November 13th, 2009, Judge Gabriela Seijas once again put Buenos Aires ahead of its neighbors by ruling that the Argentine government must recognize the marriage of José María Di Bello and Alex Freyre, a same-sex couple. This decision makes Argentina the first Latin American country to attempt to institutionalize same-sex marriage. Despite the temporary block of Di Bello and Freyre’s wedding, ordered by a national judge on December 1st, Argentines will soon be engaged in a battle over the deadlocked debate when the country’s Congress and Supreme Court take up the issue in the coming months. With regard to the rest of the region, the pending question is whether or not other countries will once again follow in Argentina’s footsteps regarding the legalization of same-sex marriage. As leftist governments continue to be elected throughout the region, the LGBT movement is approaching a crossroad: will these governments honor their stated values of equality and protect the gay community? Or, will a deeply-rooted, conservative Catholicism continue to prevent equal status for all members of society? As these progressive governments consolidate their bases on the basis of promises to the poor and disenfranchised, they must extend some of the same promises to the LGBT community. On this issue Argentina is unique in its regional context because it has now twice been the first to initiate the granting of equal status for its LGBT citizens. So far, several Latin American governments, like Argentina, are also moving to fulfill some of their promises and apposite principles by extending some rights through the institutionalization of same-sex civil unions, much to the chagrin of conservatives, religious leaders and others. In the meantime, the Argentine LGBT community will continue to commemorate the country’s willingness to be the first to tackle this contentious issue. Full Story from Scoop.co.nz: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0912/S00539.htm

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Argentina: How the Fight for Gay Marriage is Playing Out

There were rose petals and rice on the ground in front of the civil registry in Buenos Aires. But in the end they weren't for Alex Freyre and Jose Maria Di Bello, the gay couple hoping to achieve Latin America's first same-sex marriage. On the eve of their wedding day last week, a national judge overturned a city court decision to issue them a marriage license. The couple came to the registry anyway, vowing not to leave until they were wed. Protesters quietly mingled among the crowd of supporters. Roxanna Olivera, 33, wore a tie-dye rainbow shirt that said, "Jesus is Your Alternative." "What will we tell our children," she said watching the gay rights supporters waving flags and chanting for Alex and Jose. "There's a law of God we need to follow." Full Story from the Global Post: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/argentina/091209/gay-marriage

Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook - just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you'll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We're also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.

Argentina: Gay Couple's Wedding Tuesday Divides South America

The Beruti register office in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires will never have witnessed a marriage like it. On Tuesday, Alex Freyre and José María Di Bello, who met three years ago at a conference on HIV, will make history and divide a continent as they become Latin America's first gay married couple. The ceremony will be a tribute to their determination as well as their love for each other, after a bitter three-year campaign which has divided a city, outraged Argentina's powerful Roman Catholic church and overturned the constitution. Freyre and Di Bello's forthcoming nuptials have been debated on television, in churches and on the street. Hostile posters can be found on billboards across the city. But, in Di Bello's words, nothing can now prevent him and his partner becoming "husband and husband". Full Story from The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/29/latin-america-first-gay-wedding

Click here for gay marriage resources.

To subscribe to this blog, use the rss feed on the right, or use the form at right to join our email list. You can also email us at info@purpleunions.com. Or find us on Facebook - just search for Gay Marriage Watch (you'll see our b/w wedding pic overlooking the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge in SF). We're also tweeting daily at http://www.twitter.com/gaymarriagewatc.